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The Babadook

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01:26

The Babadook

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• Horror
• Drama

• 2013
• Jennifer Kent
• 89 mins
• 15

Summary

Psychological horror starring Essie Davis and Noah Wiseman. Haunted by her husband's death, Amelia is struggling to raise her troubled young son Samuel. When a disturbing children's book mysteriously appears in Samuel's room, Amelia slowly realises that its sinister protagonist may be something more than just a storybook monster.

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IMDB

Review

A star rating of 4 out of 5.

Alan Jones

Owing as much to Roman Polanski as Roald Dahl, Jennifer Kent's striking debut feature is a bold and intensely emotional psychological horror. Essie Davis plays a stressed-out care worker struggling to cope with her troubled six-year-old son (Noah Wiseman), who was born on the day her husband violently died. She reads the boy a sinister pop-up book that mysteriously appears on a shelf, but soon comes to question whether the monstrous "Babadook" is as fictional as she first thought. Old school special effects give scary life to the titular black-clad creature in a consistently unnerving allegory on grief and guilt, maternal trauma and madness, and unconditional love and loss. Davis gives a truly monumental performance as the anguished mother who becomes an uncontrollable force of murderous destruction in order to take on every child's worst nightmare.

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6.8/10

How to watch

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Streaming

• ITVX
• Netflix
• Prime Video
• HBO Max
• Sky Store

Credits

Cast

rolenameAmeliaEssie DavisSamuelNoah WisemanClaireHayley McElhinneyRobbieDaniel HenshallMrs RoachBarbara WestOskarBenjamin WinspearThe BabadookTim PurcellTeacherCarmel Johnson

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Crew

rolenameDirectorJennifer Kent

Details

Theatrical distributor

Icon

Released on

2014-10-24

Languages

English

Guidance

Violence, swearing.

Available on

DVD and Blu-ray

Formats

Colour

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